What happened to Alex Smith's leg? Ex-NFL QB gives glimpse into his insane surgeries

Alex Smith played in the NFL as a quarterback from 2005-2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Redskins/Commanders. As a member of the Redskins, during the 2018 season, Smith suffered a gruesome leg injury. It resulted in a spiral and compound fracture to his tibia and fibula, in his right leg.

Today, Smith shared a picture of his right leg, which has gone viral on social media.

The injury was so bad that Smith initially developed life-threatening necrotizing fasciitis, which resulted in sepsis, something that required 17 surgeries.

Smith wore an external fixation device for nearly a year during his recovery. He was then placed on Washington's PUP (physically unable to perform) list for the 2019 season and sat out the entire year. Many people thought Smith would never return from the injury.

Did Alex Smith play after leg injury?

Alex Smith was activated off the PUP list to begin the 2020 season. While he didn't begin the season as the team's starter, Smith ended up starting six games for Washington, winning five of them.

He made his appearance back to the field on Oct. 11 when Kyle Allen left the game with an injury. Smith returned to the field the following month on Nov. 8, when Allen left Washington's game with a leg injury.

The following week, Smith completed 38-of-55 passes for 390 yards. The attempts and completion totals were career highs. Smith earned his first win since 2018 against the Cincinnati Bengals the following week.

Following his efforts in the 2020 season, Smith won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. The following off-season, he was waived by Washington, becoming a free agent. Despite interest from some teams, Smith decided to retire.

In his career, Alex Smith has been named to three Pro Bowls, was named the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, and has thrown for 35,650 yards, 199 touchdowns, and 109 interceptions.